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Florian Weber

Imaginary Circle

ECM
Release Date: September 13, 2024

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1 Prelude  
2 Opening I  
3 Opening II  
4 Opening III  
5 Word I  
6 Word II  
7 Word III  
8 Word IV  
9 Sacrifice I  
10 Sacrifice II  
11 Sacrifice III  
12 Sacrifice IV  
13 Blessing I  
14 Blessing II  
15 Blessing III  
16 Blessing IV  
17 Epilogue  
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Idiosyncratic, large-scale and in its fundamental disposition one of a kind, Florian Weber’s Imaginary Cycle, conceived for the unique instrumentation of brass ensemble and piano, is a hybrid of multiple musical languages that seamlessly blends the harmonious with the oblique. Here Weber presents a cycle in four parts, bookended by an opening and an epilogue, in which the German pianist is accompanied by a group of four euphoniums, a trombone quartet as well as flautist Anna-Lena Schnabel and Michel Godard on the seldomely used “serpent” brass instrument, together performing a work that blurs the line where improvisation ends and composition begins. As the ensemble elegantly journeys across Florian’s multiple-idioms-spanning oeuvre, symphonic passages mingle with intricate counterpoint, pastoral notions are contrasted with textures more contemporary, as each voice in the ensemble plays an independent part, adding to a whole.

Florian sheds light on how the project initially evolved in the liner notes: “At first Manfred Eicher and I mainly had imagery in mind. Pictorial, figurative landscapes as gateways for musical exploration. We described images and sounds to each other and discovered similarities between our thoughts in the process. As if describing a room to one other, resulting in a particular atmosphere where our two view-points overlap. And from the beginning, the entire project was developed together with him. It started out from a piano-centric approach. Manfred soon introduced the idea of having other instruments join in, but from afar. Lontano he said. I was immediately taken with that approach and we exchanged many ideas surrounding the concept. From early on he proposed adding a group of instruments that would cover a lower frequency range.”

Joining Weber for the realization of this intricately wrought endeavour is the French euphonium quartet Opus 333 on the one side and a hand-picked group of four trombone players on the other. Weber’s long-time musical accomplice Michel Godard, who plays serpent and tuba on the album, was a close advisor for the choice of euphonium players, bass trombonist Maxine Troglauer – a more recent but equally trusted acquaintance of Weber’s – helped find the right trombonists for this purpose. Adding to this instrumental foundation – aside from Florian on piano –, flutist Anna-Lena Schnabel and Michel Godard hover above and between the ensemble sections, building a connection between the piano and the brass, a bridge between ancient and contemporary forms of musical expression, and intersections, seamless, between the composed and the improvised worlds.

“Some of the pieces in the cycle start out from a completely improvised point and slowly build their way into a through-composed passage,” Florian notes. “Anna-Lena Schnabel is especially sensitive and skilled at reacting to the mood and overall conceptual arc of the music. She’s truly able to capture the compositional aspect in her improvisations. The same goes for Michel, whose communication with the other instruments is unique.”

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